Casino Stocks Jump in Response to NFL Decision

Date Written: Mar 30, 2017

Written by: Kyle Joseph

Barely one day after NFL owners voted to approve the Oakland Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, shares of Vegas casinos are on the up and up. On Monday, it was not only the Raiders’ move that was approved. In addition, some $750 million tax dollars will be set aside to help build the new, state of the art stadium. Though it will still be a little while until any NFL action takes place in Las Vegas, those with interest in the move are already making that interest well-known.

A Massive Plan to Reinvent Las Vegas

When we throw around the phrase “revitalizing Las Vegas,” that tends to lead people to believe that, perhaps, the city is not doing so well financially. While this is not necessarily the case, casino revenues over the past few years have not exactly found places in the record books. Thanks to other states expanding their own gambling industries, the allure of going to Vegas to gamble has been lost to some extent.

With the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, however, this is something that is sure to change, and in a hurry. The 65,000-seat proposed stadium will not only bring in spectators, but also gamblers. People looking to take advantage of an NFL weekend will travel to Vegas and ultimately spend money, whether on the floors of casinos, at shops, or even at restaurants. This is pointing in the direction of being a very big money-maker for the city and its many thousands of businesses.

With that being said, none of this can happen without a great deal of money being spent. In addition to the $700+ million being set aside in the form of tax dollars, main financial backer Bank of America is set to contribute $650 million of their own. On top of this, the Raiders’ organization is also going to fork over $500 million. All said and done, this project will approach a $2 billion price tag. By some people’s estimates, it may even exceed $2 billion as massive construction projects like this almost always go over budget.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. MGM Resorts International, and Las Vegas Sands were just a few of the corporate entities whose stocks appreciated in value once the move was officially approved and announced. Chief Executive of Wynn Resorts, Steven Wynn, commented on why the NFL moving to Las Vegas is such a big deal. In his remarks, he said, “You can talk about all the acts that come to Las Vegas and all the concerts, but they don’t get televised to tens of millions of people.” While even a sub-par NFL team would mean for millions and millions of extra dollars for casinos and businesses throughout the greater Las Vegas area, a stellar year on the part of the Raiders may very well see casinos break revenue records; something that was thought to be impossible as an increasing number of states expand the scope of gambling.